The biofiltration process in the biologically activated carbon filters (BAC) is one of advanced methods of water treatment. It enables efficient elimination of dissolved organic matter and some inorganic pollutants. The production of high-quality drinking water requires an appropriate method of filter work control based on biofilm growth assessment. The first aim of the study was to assess the microbial development in beds of two BAC filters with the use of various methods. The second aim was to compare the obtained results and indicate the method which could support filter operators during routine control of biofiltration process. The study was carried out in a pilot scale on models of BAC filters during two filter runs. The analysis of Microorganisms was performed in water samples collected from different depths of the filter beds with the use of culture method (HPC), metabolica ctivity assay (with the FDA), epifluorescence microscopy – total cell count method (TCC) and biochemical method (system Vitek 2 Compact). No statistical correlation between HPC and metabolic activity assay was noted. Total bacteria number determined with the use of TCC was approx. 100–900 times higher than in the HPC method. The biochemical tests revealed the presence of several Gram-negative species. The comparison of the applied methods shows that microbial activity assay is the most useful, fast and low-cost method which may be applied additionally to the HPC method at standard water treatment plant laboratory.

Participation – Activity – Agency – step back or progress to develop civil society? The main aim of the article is kick-off discussion about phenomenon of participation in spatial planning and management. Background to the discussion are results of my, more than twenty years, research on citizens’ standards of influence to the local authorities. It is drive me to the question if is the public participation right way to create civil society, especially in the context of spatial management? What do we expect in that context? We would like to provoke Polish local communities to bottom-up initiatives or make citizens to participate “on the call of the authorities” in statutory forms of engagement in spatial management process? There in Poland do we want to create a “civil society” or a “society of civic organizations”? Public participation is a tool and action that provokes the processes of civil society development or part of a bureaucratic planning ritual to tame the “social demon of activity”? Listed questions provoke me to discussion about five, in my opinion, significant, though perhaps not the only, dilemmas accompanying the implementation of participatory processes in the spatial planning and management, especially large territorial units. These are: “institutionalization of engagement”, “formalization of civic engagement”, “erosion of civic engagement”, “diversity of forms of civic engagement”, “exclusion of groups of citizens through involvement”. The listed issues show that participation is not end of process, but only a tool on the road to building or a civil society or a society of instrumental activity.

Oxygen is an element that is first purposely brought into the steel melt to remove some unwanted elements or to reduce their concentration

(oxidation). In the made cast steel there is on the contrary necessary to reduce the oxygen content with the use of deoxidation to such a

level in order to avoid a reaction with carbon with the formation of CO bubbles. Concentration of oxygen in steel before casting is given,

in particular, by the manner of metallurgical processing and the used deoxidation process. Oxygen is found in molten steels both as

chemically bound in the form of oxides and in the form of oxygen dissolved in the solution – the melt. Chemical composition

of the melt strongly influences the activity of oxygen dissolved in the melt and further on the composition of oxidic inclusions forming in

the melt during the reaction with oxygen. In the Fe-C-Cr-Ni based alloys in the reaction with oxygen greatly participates also chrome,

whose products are often in solid state and they are the cause of forming such defects as e.g. oxidic films.

The aim of the performed experiments was to analyse relationships occurring between endophytic

bacteria from the Herbaspirillum genus and Sinorhizobium meliloti Bp nodule bacteria and to examine the

condition of plants subjected to coinoculation with the above-mentioned strains in in vitro conditions. In experiments examining the impact of Herbaspirillum frisingense on Sinorhizobium meliloti BP, the stimulation of

growth of inoculated bacteria from the Sinorhizobium genus was recorded in all three combinations (48-hour

culturing, sediment and supernatant). On the other hand, the examination of interactions between the Sinorhizobium meliloti strain and Herbaspirillum frisingense strain revealed that in the case of culture and supernatant, an

antagonistic action was recorded. Besides, it was found that such coinoculation exerted a beneficial influence on

the process of seed lucerne symbiosis and yielding as confirmed by increased numbers of root nodules, higher

nitrogenase activity and greater plant mass.

The aim of this study was to determine the effect of the soil tillage system on soil enzymatic activity. The performed investigations, employing two soil tillage systems: classical (ploughing) and simplified (no-tillage), were carried out on Luvisols and Arenosols differing typologically, with regard to their kind and species. The activity of the following five enzymes was determined in soil samples: dehydrogenases, acid phosphatase, alkaline phosphatase, urease and protease. The applied enzymes tests turned out to be good indicators differentiating the examined soil objects depending on the employed tillage system. The employment of the simplified tillage system stimulated significantly the activity of the analysed enzymes irrespective of the soil type. This effect was particularly apparent in the top layer (0-10 cm) of the soil. An exceptionally wide range of activity was obtained for dehydrogenases indicating the usefulness of this group of enzymes for the evaluation of changes in the soil environment under the influence of the soil tillage system. The observed activity stimulation of the examined enzymes was accompanied by advantageous changes in soil chemical conditions.

The purpose of the study was to analyse the effect of changes in the composition of raw material and agglomeration on sorption properties of a multi-component food, in the example of a powdered cocoa beverage. The basic composition of the mixtures was 20% of cocoa and 80% of sucrose. A change in raw material composition involved partial or total replacement of sucrose with a mixture of glucose and fructose, or with maltodextrin. Analysis of sorption properties demonstrated variability in the course of isotherms of water vapour sorption for components of the powdered cocoa beverage. Limiting water activity (aw) was determined for the value of 0.529. The conducted analysis detected no significant effect of agglomeration on water content in the tested products. However, a significant change in the raw material composition was demonstrated.

We used the Dpph method to assess in vitro the antiradical activity of extracts from the roots, leaves and fruits of six Rumex L. (dock) species. Data from preliminary screening indicated that all the tested extracts showed antioxidant properties. The degree of antiradical activity depended upon the plant part. Fruit extracts from R. hydrolapathum Huds., R. obtusifolius L. and R. confertus Willd. showed stronger antiradical properties than the other tested material. We also determined tannin content levels in the extracts and their correlation with antioxidant activity.

Article presents results of research concerning condition of school pedagogy as a subdiscipline. Study was performed by Zespół Zadaniowy Pedagogiki szkolnej under the auspices of PAN. The condition of subdiscipline was described as: presence of formal entities of school pedagogy in universities, academic and didactic activity on subject school pedagogy. Quantitative and qualitative description underlies to preliminary findings concerning condition of school pedagogy.

The scope of the paper refers to long- and medium-run trends of labour supply in Poland. The main purpose is to determine current trends in the labour supply and its projections till the year 2050. In the theoretical part of the paper determinants of labour supply are considered. The projections are based on the population forecasts till 2050 made by the Central Statistical Office of Poland (CSO) and by the authors’ own simulations. Several variants of upper limit of working age and activity rates are taken into account. The population forecasts by the CSO indicate it will occur big decrease of working age population till 2050. The biggest decrease will refer to the group of working age 18–59/64 years and the lowest decrease in the age group 18–66 years. The analysis shows that the declines in labour supply in the years 2020–2050 will occur in all variants of working age population, the biggest decline in the variant assuming the age group 18–59/64 and the smallest decline – in the group 15–74 years. Retirement age is of big importance for the size of labour supply. This is why it is recommended to encourage older people to prolong their economic activity. It is also necessary to increase activity rates in the working age population.

The paper presents characterisation of the eco-chemical condition and potential threats to soils of goose farms on the basis of recent monitoring of a 15-year measuring cycle. It was demonstrated that the observed soil enzymatic inactivation progressing with years of investigations on the examined farms was significantly associated with a very high content of mineral nitrogen and available forms of phosphorus. A distinct tendency towards increased content of heavy metals in soils derived from these farms as well as in their direct neighbourhood observed with the passage of time poses a serious hazard to the environment

Changes in activity of amylase, cellulase, protease and dehydrogenase during biodegradation of petroleum contaminants were investigated in laboratory studies. Refinery soil polluted for a long time was modified by commercial biological preparation and natural biological preparation (prepared from this soil). These modifications did not influence cellulase and protease activity. Activity of amylase and dehydrogenase changed in these samples. In the sixth week the highest activity of dehydrogenase was noticed, especially in soil with commercial biological preparation. Modifications had a great influence on contaminants degradation. The highest elimination of TPH (20,4%) and heavy fractions (10,5%) took place in soil modified by commercial biological preparation. The highest PAH elimination was in soil with natural bacterial preparation

Applying pesticides to crops is one of the causes of water pollution by surface runoff, and chlorpyrifos, trifluralin and chlorothalonil are used respectively as insecticide, herbicide and fungicide for crop plants widely. To explore effects of three pesticides on aquatic organisms, superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione S-transferase (GST) activities were determined after 24 h and 48 h exposure of D. magna with ages of 6–24 h to several low concentrations of chlorpyrifos (0.36, 0.72, 1.43, 2.86, 5.72 μg∙L−1), trifluralin (0.17, 0.33, 0.66, 1.33, 2.65 mg∙L−1) and chlorothalonil (0.09, 0.18, 0.36, 0.72, 1.43 mg∙L−1) respectively. Main reproductive parameters including first pregnancy time, first brood time, the number of first brood and total fecundity after 21 d exposures at the same concentrations of pesticides as described above were also measured. The results showed that the activities of GST increased in lower concentrations and decreased in higher concentrations after 24 h exposure to three pesticides, respectively. The activities of SOD showed the same changes after 48 h exposure. With the time prolonged, the activities of GST decreased while the activities of SOD increased. After 21 d exposure, the first pregnancy time and first brood time were delayed, while the number of the first brood and total fecundity per female decreased with increasing concentrations. These results corroborated that GST activity was more sensitive to those pesticides than SOD activity, and there was a significant relationship between total fecundity and pesticides-dose(r>0.94, n=6), GST activity after 48 h exposure and total fecundity after 21 d exposure (r>0.92, n=6).

The aim of the presented investigations was to examine changes in the intensity of dehydrogenase and acid phosphatase activities as well as of the dynamics of selected groups of microorganisms in the soil under the cultivation of winter triticale following the application of the following seed dressings: (a.s.) flutriafol 2.5% + fludioxonil 2.5% in two doses and (a.s.) carboxin and tiuram. The experiment had a field character. The number of microorganisms (total bacteria, fungi, oligotrophic, copiotrophic and Azotobacter) was determined by the plate method on adequate agar substrates. Activity levels of the selected enzymes were defined using the spectrometrical method.

The obtained results indicate a change in the dehydrogenase and phoshatase activity in soil depending on the seed dressing applied in the experiment as well as at the date of investigations. The number of microorganisms in the soil underwent fluctuations depending on the developmental stage of triticale and the applied fungicide. The performed experiment demonstrated that counts of microorganisms in the soil underwent fluctuations depending on the developmental stage of triticale and the applied fungicide.

The vegetation of allotment gardens is an important element of urban green areas and constitutes a habitat where many groups of insects exist, including aphids. This research involved the monitoring of winged morphs of aphids in allotment gardens in the area of Poznań with the use of Moericke traps. The fauna structure of aphids in two large allotment gardens was demonstrated by comparing the activity of winged morphs of aphids in 2000–2001 and 2014–2015. The vegetation of these gardens was accompanied by the rich fauna of aphids. For four growing seasons, 113 species or groups of aphid species were captured with the traps. Major changes were reported in the structure of the collected fauna in the period of time when the research was conducted. The differences concerned particular positions of collected species in aphid communities. The abundance of Anoecia corni, Aphis sambuci, Phorodon humuli and Periphyllus testudinaceus increased, and now hold the position of subdominants of the communities, whereas Myzus persicae and Hyalopterus pruni decreased in comparison with the situation more than ten years ago. Rhopalosiphum padi still remains an eudominant in the communities. The main reason for this phenomenon is thought to be due to changes in the vegetation composition of gardens because the gardens are being used differently. The production function has changed to recreation.

Fast development of computation techniques for electrolyte activities contributed recently to introduction of a few substantial programmes for thermodynamic computing of multiphase systems. The presented study comprises useful information for practical computing using selected thermodynamic models of aqueous electrolyte solutions. Those models enable quantitative description of both phase and ionic equilibria and provide values of activity coefficients. The carried out analysis of individual models involved a comparison of their practical effectiveness features along with problems encountered in evaluation of the coefficients. The authors conclude that for the Solvay soda system the exUNIQUAC model for an in-house code or the MSE model for a commercial one can be used.

The propagation of EEG activity during the Continuous Attention Test (CAT) was determined by means of Short-time Directed Transfer Function (SDTF). SDTF supplied the information on the direction, spectral content and time evolution of the propagating EEG activity. The differences in propagation for target and non-target conditions were found mainly in the frontal structures of the brain.

In order to simulate the warming effects on Arctic wetlands, three passive open−top chambers (OTCs) and three control cage−like structures (CCSs) equipped with soil temperature and soil volumetric water content (VWC) probes for continuous micro− climatic measurements were installed in a wet hummock meadow, Petuniabukta, Billefjorden, central Spitsbergen, in 2009. The warming effects on primary productivity were investigated during summer seasons 2009 and 2010 in cyanobacterial colonies of Nostoc commune s.l., which plays an important role in the local carbon and nitrogen cycles. The microclimatic data indicated that the effect of OTCs was dependent on microtopography. During winter, two short−term snow−thaw episodes occurred, so that liquid water was available for the Nostoc communities. Because of the warming, the OTC hummock bases remained unfrozen three weeks longer in comparison to the CCSs and, in spring, the OTC hummock tops and bases exceeded 0 ° C several days earlier than CCS ones. Mean summer temperature differences were 1.6 ° C in OTC and CCS hummock tops, and 0.3 ° Cinthe OTC and CCS hummock bases. The hummock tops were drier than their bases; however the VWC difference between the OTCs and CCSs was small. Due to the only minor differences in the microclimate of OTC and CCS hummock bases, where the Nostoc colonies were located, no differences in ecophysiological characteristics of Nostoc colonies expressed as photochemistry parameters and nitrogenase activities were detected after two years exposition. Long−term monitoring of Nostoc ecophysiology in a manipulated environment is necessary for understanding their development under climate warming.

This paper shows the possibility that the mineral coal existing in the mining basins of northern Spain have a high added value. This would facilitate its future use in different fields such as new materials, nanotechnology, energy use in situ, coal bed methane, enhanced coal bed methane and coalmine methane.

An analytical study of mineral coal samples is carried out. The samples come from two deposits located in coal basins of the Cantabrian Mountains. The duly prepared samples are subjected to an activation process. Within this transformation, different treatments are applied to different sub-samples. Some of the sub-samples suffer a previous demineralization by successive attacks with acids, followed by oxidation and pyrolysis. Finally, all of them are activated with CO2 and H2O(steam).

The carbonaceous products resulting from each treatment are characterised. The results show that all the pre-treatments used were positive for the textural development of the materials. Likewise, proper management of the processes and of the different operating variables allows the procurement of carbonaceous materials with a “tailor-made” structural development of the coal type. This material receives the name “activated” and can be employed in specific processes.

Passive noise reduction methods require thick and heavy barriers to be effective for low frequencies and those clasical ones are thus not suitable for reduction of low frequency noise generated by devices. Active noise-cancelling casings, where casing walls vibrations are actively controlled, are an interesting alternative that can provide much higher low-frequency noise reduction. Such systems, compared to classical ANC systems, can provide not only local, but also global noise reduction, which is highly expected for most applications. For effective control of casing vibrations a large number of actuators is required. Additionally, a high number of error sensors, usually microphones that measure noise emission from the device, is also required. All actuators have an effect on all error sensors, and the control system must take into account all paths, from each actuator to each error sensor. The Multiple Error FXLMS has very high computational requirements. To reduce it a Switched-Error FXLMS, where only one error signal is used at the given time, have been proposed. This, however, significantly reduces convergence rate. In this paper an algorithm that uses multiple errors at once, but not all, is proposed. The performance of various algorithm variants is compared using simulations with the models obtained from real active-noise cancelling casing.

The subject of this study was the lesser grain borer Rhizopertha dominica F. The aim of the experiments was to verify the hypothesis suggesting that the course of simultaneous vertical migration and horizontal spread of the R. dominica population is determined by nutritional and habitat selectivity. The following products were used as nutrients in the experiments: wheat, oat flakes, pearl barley and semolina. It was found that the course of a migration process is connected with nutritional preferences determined mainly by a nutrient type and its granulation. At the initial stage of the study the highest emigration was noted in the oat flakes. After a time the highest migration was directed to as follows: wheat, oat flakes, pearl barley and semolina. Females showed a higher migratory activity.

Neotectonic studies in Poland concern mainly manifestations of those tectonic movements that have been active in Late Neogene and Quaternary times, as well as geodetically measured recent vertical and horizontal crustal motions. Among problems of particular interest, the following should be listed: periodicity of neotectonic (mostly Quaternary) activity, estimation of the parametres of the neotectonic stress field, amplitudes and rates of Quaternary and recent movements, development of neotectonic troughs and young faults, mutual relationships among photolineaments, geological structures and recent seismicity, as well as the role of tectonic reactivation of fault zones due to human activity. Neotectonic faults in Poland have developed in Neogene and Quaternary times due to reactivation of Laramian or older structures, or in the Quaternary due to reactivation of Neogene faults. The size of throw of Quaternary faults changes from 40-50 m and >100 m in the Sudetes and the Lublin Upland, to several - several tens of metres in the Carpathians. The average rate of faulting during Quaternary times has been 0.02 to 0.05 mm/yr, what enables one to include these structures into the domains of inactive or low-activity faults. A similar conclusion can be drawn from the results of repeated precise levellings and GPS campaigns. Strike-slip displacements have been postulated for some of these faults. Isolated faults in Central Poland have shown middle Quaternary thrusting of the order of 40-50 m, and some of the Outer Carpathian overthrusts tend to reveal young Quaternary activity, as indicated, i.a., by concentrations of fractured pebbles within the thrust zones. Episodes of increased intensity of faulting took place in the early Quaternary, in the Mazovian (Holsteinian) Interglacial, and during or shortly after the Odranian (Drenthe) glacial stage. Some of the faults have also been active in Holocene times. Recent seismic activity is often related to strike-slip faults, which in the Carpathians trend ENE-WSW and NE-SW, whereas outside the Carpathians they are oriented parallel to the margin of the East-European Platform and the Sudetic Marginal Fault. Future investigations should put more emphasis on palaeoseismotectonic phenomena and practical application of neotectonic research.

In many research studies it is argued that it is possible to extract useful information about future real economic activity from the performance of financial markets. However, this study goes further and shows that it is not only possible to use expectations derived from financial markets to forecast future economic activity, but that data about the financial system can be used for this purpose as well. This paper sheds light on the ability to forecast real economic activity, based on additional and different financial variables than what have been presented so far.

The research is conducted for the Polish emerging economy on the basis of monthly data. The results suggest that, based purely on the data from the financial system, it is possible to construct reasonable measures that can, even for an emerging economy, effectively forecast future real economic activity. The outcomes are proved by two different econometric methods, namely, by a time series analysis and by a probit model. All presented models are tested in-sample and out-of-sample.